Year of the Spark: August 26
by Sparky Army
Summary: The Year of the Spark continues!


We, the Sparky Army, decree 2008 to be the Year of the Spark. We pledge to post a new sparky story or chapter of a sparky story every day from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008. Though the Powers that Be have removed Elizabeth Weir from the regular cast of Stargate Atlantis, we feel that she remains an integral part of the show, and that the relationship between her and John Sheppard is too obvious to be ignored. We hope that you, and anyone who might happen to read these works, agree.

And if that isn't official enough for you, we don't know what is. Seriously, guys, we're just trying to have some fun--and show TPTB that Sparky is the way to go. So sit back and enjoy the 366 stories coming your way!

Note from the author (Chicky): This took me six hours to post because the site wouldn't let me log in. Finally it worked. I'm so happy it's up!

* * *

**Bottled Up Inside**

By Chicky (Beach Chick)

* * *

Elizabeth felt uneasiness creep over her, as she lay stretched out next to John Sheppard in his bed. She could hear his slow breathing, and the sound was comforting even though her thoughts were anything but. He had one arm protectively wrapped around her waist while her body was tucked up against his chest. Even though she was facing away from him, she didn't have to be staring at his face to know that he was sound asleep. She wished that she could have fallen asleep as well, but sleep seemed just out of reach.

As she lay awake, the expedition leader's thoughts wandered aimlessly. They seemed to have a mind of their own. Her thoughts twisted in an out of what occurred between her and John tonight. She remembered coming to his room a few hours ago. She'd been upset about the recent mission. John and his team had barely made it off that planet alive, and Elizabeth had come to chew him out about the stupid unnecessary risks he was always taking. They'd got into a shouting match, which was very unusual for the two of them.

"Why do you even care?" He'd finally said. His voice was a few octaves higher than usual, and he was annoyed as hell that she was yelling back at him instead of remaining calm and composed like she usually did.

She sighed. "I care about you, John. You and your team are important to me, and I…I don't want to see you hurt."

Frustrated tears slowly started to run down her pale face, and in seconds John had closed the distance between them to wipe her tears away. From that moment on, the two of them hadn't been able to control themselves.

Elizabeth was snapped out of her thoughts as an article of clothing caught her attention. Somehow her shirt had managed to make its way into John's bathroom. It was carelessly lying in a pile along with his. She sighed as she focused on the clothing. Elizabeth couldn't regret what had happened between them, but she knew that her feelings for the Colonel were unraveling. Since her break-up with Simon, she had been careful to keep her emotions in check. Her true feelings were always kept bottled up inside. This helped to protect her and keep her strong for every new challenge they'd faced so far in Atlantis, but tonight she'd let her guard down, and he'd slipped under her defenses.

It frightened her that one touch from him could make her melt. If she could see how he was starting to tear down the wall she'd built around herself, others would surely notice. Once the thought entered her mind, all the dangers that could occur started to make room in her imagination. Elizabeth realized that their relationship had to remain strictly professional. She couldn't be his weakness, and he couldn't be hers. Their enemies would be capable of using that against them.

She took a deep breath and slid out from under John's reach. He turned to face the wall oblivious to the warmth that was missing at his side. She silently gathered her clothing and dressed. She moved her hand over the panel near his door, and it opened with a quiet whooshing sound. Elizabeth took one more look at him and tried to convince herself that her feelings for him would fade over time.


End file.
